Old
by natalone09
Summary: Entry for the  Post-Eclipse AU One-shot Contest, held in ADF during the Labour Day Weekend. Ten years after their wedding, everything changes for  Bella and Edward.


****Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters, they belong to Stephanie Meyer.****

**AN: **This was my entry for the **Post-Eclipse** One-shot Contest, held in ADF during the Labour Day Weekend . The story takes time ten years after the end of Eclipse and Breaking Dawn does not exist.

** 22blue** is the amazing beta behind this. I really can't thank her enough.

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><p><strong>OLD<strong>

She holds the same routine almost every morning. Washing her hair, scrubbing her body hard, shaving and moisturizing every exposed inch of skin. She needed to feel clean, soft, fresh, perfect.

The white marble of the bathroom vanity is completely covered by products. Outrageously expensive creams, rare soaps, a variety of facial masks and body lotions there to remind her of one thing: she's aging, and Edward is not.

The mirror is a good friend to Bella. She still looks very young for being twenty-eight. Time and nature were truly kind to her, but not enough for the wife of a 17-year-old man. Standing in front of her reflection, she searches for all kinds of signs: wrinkles, dark circles, dry spots, freckles, cellulite, stretch marks, fat. None of those are acceptable. She has to stay young, spotless, perfect.

Bella had made a lot of changes throughout the last ten years. She had started using cosmetics, had spent hours in the gym, had followed a strict diet and had often taken health tests. All those changes were due to a choice she was not strong enough to take back. She had chosen to stay human for a few years longer. Each year she had made the decision to change, and each year she would rescind that promise. To Edward's dismay, she had to stay fragile. She had only one reason: her father, Charlie.

Her mind travels back to Forks. After she'd finished her studies at Dartmouth, the Cullens had decided it was time for them to move. They went back north, to Canada. She was almost three thousand miles away from her father, the one and only relative she had left. Renee died sooner than anyone had expected.

Alice had seen it one day, almost a year after their wedding. Brain cancer. Renee had only three months to live. Bella and Edward were there for her and Phil. Seeing death surrounding her mother was devastating, but one thing had kept some of the pain away. She was able to be there for Renee.

And now Charlie was completely alone, but he had never forgotten the mother of his daughter. Bella had visited him at least twice a year. She'd taken care of everything he needed, although he had not asked a thing from her. Edward had read all his wishes and Alice had kept an eye on him…just in case. The big question was there too: how long would it be safe to visit him? He would notice Edward's youth. He would ask.

A familiar smell fills her nostrils. She feels his arms wrap around her. Edward kisses her neck, and she immediately becomes relaxed, practically losing her ability to think and speak.

"You really don't need all these, love. You are beautiful and your smell..." he whispered, looking at his wife's reflection in the mirror. His love for her grew stronger with each passing day; he worshipped her, but...for how long?

She tried to speak but Edward's cell distracted them both. He left her alone again, to her morning ritual, to her own fight against time.

Edward returned sooner than she expected, but the charm and smiles had left his beautiful face, replaced by sorrow and hardness. This was not good.

"What? What is it?" she asks him, her thoughts focused on her family.

"It was Alice," he mumbles. Something was off.

"She saw Charlie, Bella. He had a heart attack a few hours ago. He was with Billy and the Clearwaters. She saw him too late. I'm so sorry my love..."

She feels strong arms around her again. He is tender; he is there for her, to collect the sobs and the tears, to take care of her. Her make-up is smudged, the lipstick she had so carefully put on now on Edward's shirt, and her eyes are red and puffy. A sharp pain stabs at her head; she shakes in Edward's embrace. She feels more human than ever.

A few hours later, they all fly to Washington.

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><p>Bella locked the door and handed Billy the keys. He was Charlie's best friend. He would know what to do with his belongings. She kept only a box with small but important memories of her life there.<p>

The ceremony was brief. Most of the town was there. Charlie received a lot of goodbyes.  
>Bella didn't miss the way people were looking at her husband. Edward heard so many thoughts about how he still looked so young and how much Bella had grown up and became such a beautiful woman.<p>

Some of the comments and the whispers were out of pure curiosity; some were out of pure jealousy. The most interesting thoughts belonged to Jacob.

Jacob also looked young and healthy, but family and children had given him the air of maturity. The two men shook hands and spoke a few words appropriate for the occasion. No one could imagine that, when no one could hear them, they had both admitted that it would be the last time they would see each other.

Bella and Edward left the same day. The rest of the Cullens had stayed away from the ceremony. Carlisle's and Esme's faces, untouched by time, would raise too many questions. It wasn't worth the risk of exposure to make an appearance after ten years.

A week later, the Cullens moved again and Bella had left all her beauty products behind. They were all hunting in the most inaccessible forests of Canada. All of them...


End file.
